Part 7 (1/2)

”Thank you, but I can do this alone.”

”Whatever they offer, I will get you a better deal. Trust me.”

”I do, Joey.” If she wasn't so agitated, Sunny might have hugged the wiry boy. She had no doubt he would be able to get her more for the timepiece, but even more than the money, she needed privacy. ”This is very special to me. I don't remember a day when I didn't see my father wearing it. To have to sell it now . . .”

Joey's face flushed, and he dropped his gaze to the ground. ”I have people to meet, too. I'll see you in the market in an hour.”

Sunny watched Joey walk away. She took a moment to gather her composure before heading off for the International Settlement. She crossed the Garden Bridge and walked into the Public Garden, the colonial-style park that jutted out into the Whangpoo River. Bamboo, weeds and dirt had replaced the manicured lawns and vibrant flowerbeds that had once made the Public Garden one of Shanghai's jewels. Sunny was heartsick to see that the red-roofed gazebo where her father used to bring her in the summertime to watch bra.s.s bands play had been vandalized, too.

Pus.h.i.+ng aside thoughts of the neglected grounds, Sunny spotted Wen-Cheng Huang seated on a bench across from the twisted hull of the gazebo. Clearly, he saw her too, but, as they had agreed, he pretended not to recognize her. Instead, he raised an open newspaper until it hid his face.

Sunny glanced from side to side and, satisfied that no one was watching, hurried over to him.

CHAPTER 11.

Franz tasted coal dust as he almost choked on the dark smoke that billowed from the stove. But he didn't dare stop fanning the charcoal briquettes inside, trying to coax them to life with as much oxygen as possible. Their traditional Shanghainese oven, which always reminded Franz of an overturned flowerpot, was loaded with briquettes recycled by the locals and compacted with river mud. They took forever to ignite and would extinguish on a whim.

”Will Sunny be home for supper?” Esther asked from the couch behind him, where she sat rocking Jakob to sleep in her arms.

”I hope so,” Franz said. ”As we were leaving the hospital, an elderly woman arrived with a rapid heartbeat. Sunny gave her our last tablets of digitalis.”

”Did her condition improve?”

”It helped, but you know Sunny. She won't leave until the woman's heart has settled down to the rate of a sleeping athlete's.”

Esther nodded approvingly. ”She's a wonderful nurse.”

”And a good surgeon, too, Essie,” he said with a tinge of pride. ”Her judgment is as good as her dexterity, and far beyond her experience.”

Franz noticed that the glowing embers had begun to dim. He waved the fan even more vigorously, like a toreador provoking a bull with his cape.

”I remember the ovens in Vienna being more responsive,” Esther said.

”I have seen corpses more responsive than this cursed contraption.”

Esther chuckled. ”And even when it does burn well, we still have to buy our hot water from the water man.”

It was true. The traditional stoves didn't produce enough heat to boil water. Before meals-which for many refugees now came once a day at most-people could be seen lining up all over Hongkew at the water stores and carts to buy a ladle or two of boiling water. They would rush their steaming pots home, being careful not to spill them, and hoping the water would still be hot when they arrived.

”What shall I prepare for supper?” Esther asked in jest.

”Perhaps a spicy sauerbraten with spaetzle and red cabbage, followed by your strudel, Essie. With whipped cream.”

Esther smiled. ”Or we could stick to rice with bland greens.”

They had not eaten meat in months. Rice was now the mainstay of their diet. Depending on their cash reserves, on a given day, they would garnish it with soybeans, bamboo shoots or flavourless greens for which no one seemed to know the German name.

Still, Franz was pleased to see Esther in good spirits. She rarely complained, but her faraway eyes often betrayed the loneliness and worry she felt in Simon's absence.

Esther carefully positioned Jakob on a pillow in the bamboo basket at her feet. The infant was the only one eating well in their home. Esther's breast milk had become plentiful and reliable since Sunny had insisted on increasing his mother's daily rice ration, and Jakob had doubled in size by the end of his third month of life. He was always a contented baby, and in the last few days he had begun to smile. His angelic grin had even recaptured Hannah's attention.

Once the baby was asleep, Esther reached for Simon's latest letter. As usual, his words brought a smile to her face. This time it evolved into a chuckle that soon turned into tears of laughter. ”Listen, listen Franz,” she choked out. ”Simon writes: 'After months down here, I can recognize the ladies of the house by the sound of their footsteps above us. Jia-Li glides over the floor. You have to concentrate to hear her: she is like a cat padding lightly overhead. Nelly-that's not her real name-but whoa, Nelly! She stomps above me like a deranged hippopotamus. That's exactly how I picture her: a hippopotamus wearing lipstick and black stockings and leaning seductively against the mantle, smoking from a long-stemmed holder.'” Esther dissolved into giggles. ”'As I write this, I hear Bambi overhead. She skitters and trips in her high heels like a fawn flailing across a frozen pond.'”

Franz marvelled at Simon's sensitivity. Imprisoned beneath a brothel, not knowing if he would ever see his wife or son again, he found only amusing anecdotes to share with his wife. Lately, his perpetually upbeat tone had begun to have an effect. For the first time since their forced separation, the practical and level-headed Esther of old re-emerged.

With the briquettes finally ignited fully, Franz felt safe turning his back on the stove. He stood up and stretched. ”Essie, have I mentioned that Wen-Cheng Huang is volunteering at the hospital?” he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Lowering the letter, Esther tilted her head up. ”Did anyone ask for his help?”

”No. He just showed up a few months ago, offering his services.”

”That was very decent of him.”

”Very. Yes.” Franz cleared his throat. ”It is somewhat of a coincidence.”

”That he should volunteer at the same hospital as Sunny?”

Franz nodded. ”Of course, there are only four hospitals still open in the city. And most of them, like us, barely get by. Before the j.a.panese, there were ten hospitals and-”

”Obviously, he has come because of Sunny.”

Franz straightened up involuntarily. ”Do you think so?”

”A Chinese doctor coming to volunteer in a Jewish refugee hospital? His sole connection being the woman who used to be . . .” She paused to search for diplomatic words. ”The object of his affection. What other reason could there be?”

”None, of course.”

”But surely Dr. Huang is not so stupid,” she said. ”Sunny and he shared a working friends.h.i.+p for years. There is no reason to a.s.sume his intentions are anything but honourable.”

”No, I suppose not.”

”Besides, Franz, what matters is how Sunny feels, not Dr. Huang.” Her face creased with an understanding smile. ”And you have nothing to worry about on that account.”

”It's almost too trivial to mention but . . .” Franz felt his face beginning to burn. He loved Esther dearly but, even with Sunny, he sometimes struggled to voice certain emotions.

”What is it Franz?”

”Last week, on the ward, I came upon the two of them talking-of course, that is nothing out of the ordinary. It's just that . . .”

”Tell me.”

Growing more embarra.s.sed by the second, he looked away. ”They were speaking in Chinese. I have no idea what it was about, but they were standing close and talking in hushed tones. There was something . . . secretive about it.”

”Sunny? Never.” Esther shook her head adamantly. ”It's not even worth considering.”